Anybody use Consumer Cellular ? Good, bad, other wise ? My verizon keeps going up and I dont use the damn thing except when I travel or emergency's. So the plan said unlimited talk text and 3 GB, I have no clue what that means for 30 bucks a month.. Common smart guys clue me in
Cell phone providers
- Thread starter skeets
- Start date
My only reliable service is through Verizon so I went shopping for providers using the Verizon towers. My wife found Twigby which seemed a good deal too me so I signed up. Then I learned I could have gotten a slightly better deal with Boom. They give you a choice of carriers but their plans are by color, not by carrier. I may switch to Boom later. Their Red plan is Verizon. These plans are $20 or less per month for unlimited talk and text and three or five gigs of high speed data shifting to 2G speed when you hit your limit.
fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
I have been using Consumer Cellular for 3 years.
They apparently buy their cell tower service from other providers.
I have had no problems, and their customer service has been helpful with any questions.
I am very satisfied!
Donystoy
Active member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
LX2610HSDCC, B/H, Loader, plus numerous other attachments. B7200 sold
Unless you live in Canada. Literally the most expensive service in the world. The smallest package available is in the range of $65 a month.
cliffboyer
Active member
Equipment
L3301 w/LA525 loader, G5200 mower w/RC48 deck, Kawasaki 610 Mule, DR mower
Been using Tracfone for 10 years. Pay as I go for what i want, when I want it.
For two phones (wife's & mine), our monthly cost averages $40. On road trips, I use mine as a Hotspot and link a tablet and use the map app. Works great.
For two phones (wife's & mine), our monthly cost averages $40. On road trips, I use mine as a Hotspot and link a tablet and use the map app. Works great.
ken erickson
Well-known member
Equipment
B7100 hst, 2650 front mount snowblower, L2501 hst qa loader
I also use a Tracfone. I buy 400 (actually 800 minutes as they ran a double minutes for life of the phone deal) minutes good for 12 months. As long as I purchase new mintues before the end date I keep my number and un used minutes roll over. I have over 6000 minutes banked! Lol. My cost works out to less than 9 dollars a month. I only use it for when I am on the road and keep it with me for emergencies when I am at the land or on my tractors.
There are only really two sets of towers: ATT or Verizon. So, look at what towers the “service” are using and whether that works in your target areas or not. Then, figure out how much data you need. Data seems to be the biggest difference. If you only need it for a trip from time to time, you could buy a prepaid phone/plan and swap sims at will. I did that this weekend because I knew there was zero ATT coverage where I was going, but decent Verizon coverage. Not all phones can work with ATT and Verizon. I bought mine just in case I wanted to do this swap. Worked well for the last few days. Yes, I had a different number for the Verizon sim.
There are now cable companies that give good combo deals for phones if you have cable, for instance. Again, look at what towers they are using. A cheap phone won’t do you any good if you never have a signal.
On final thought, really,
not all phones are created equal. Some support more channels and if they do, they generally have better coverage from the same service’s towers. Newer channels are being added to newer towers. If you have an older phone, you may not be gaining the benefit of that “increased” coverage.
There are now cable companies that give good combo deals for phones if you have cable, for instance. Again, look at what towers they are using. A cheap phone won’t do you any good if you never have a signal.
On final thought, really,
not all phones are created equal. Some support more channels and if they do, they generally have better coverage from the same service’s towers. Newer channels are being added to newer towers. If you have an older phone, you may not be gaining the benefit of that “increased” coverage.
Unless you use your phone to surf the internet the amount of data doesn't matter. Bout the only time we use data is if we're on the road or if I get bored when I'm sitting in the deer blind, not something we couldn't do without. Something I did find out after having no cell service for years where we live is that some providers offer wifi calling so if you're in a bad spot like us for cell service and your phone if capable it will switch over automatically to wifi calling (goes through the internet instead of cell towers) once you enable it. So after years of shitty internet Starlink showed up here last month and our cell phone finally works here we'll be moving in a couple months.
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Always found it 'interesting' that a 3rd party can rent/lease cell towers (and cable) from the owner, and sell you the same ,or better services CHEAPER than the OWNER of the towers and wires......
fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
All new providers give you a new SIM card which fits in your cell phone. If you change providers on line they will send you a new sim card or if you take your phone in they will change it for you. YouTube changing your SIM card for whatever phone you own.
85Hokie
Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
For the last 10 years I have used Straight talk ........ wally world set up ........
I get the same as everyone else - and I pay exactly $45.23 a month .......... no taxes, no bs - just service!!!!
Now the newest most bestest phones are NOT on straight talk - so IF you want the $1200 phone ...... this aint for you !!!!
BUT if you want a 100% reliable service for 45 bucks a month ....... hard to beat - and as mentioned, they use all of the big boys antennas
xrocketengineer
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX1880, FEL, Grapple, 36 in. Forks, 48in. MMM, Quick Spade, Ripper
Keep in mind that in order to switch SIM cards or providers, the phone has to be unlocked. If the phone was purchased from a service provider (i.e. ATT or Verizon) the phone can only be used with that provider. Some phones can never be unlocked, some are unlocked automatically after so many months of use, on others you have to request the provider to unlock the phone for you and there is also the internet hacks to unlock phones (which can be a scam).
Just to follow up on that point, unlocked doesn’t mean it works on any network. Verizon and ATT use two different incompatible technologies.
Tracfone has a $15/mo with 500 minutes, 500 texts, and 500 MB data. Unused rolls over to the next month. You can buy a variety of phones on the AT&T or Verizon networks. Just have to buy the right phone. Or they have a bring your own phone deal if you own an unlocked phone on the network you want.
HSN and QVC sometimes have the best deals.
Verizon is trying to buy TracFone, so they may eventually do away with the AT&T option.
(they have other options, including $10/mo for 30 minutes if you really don't use it much).
HSN and QVC sometimes have the best deals.
Verizon is trying to buy TracFone, so they may eventually do away with the AT&T option.
(they have other options, including $10/mo for 30 minutes if you really don't use it much).
85Hokie
Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
let me undo the BS .............. take your current phone to walmart .......... ask a person who has half a brain at the electronic counter ......
"yo - can i carry my current number over to one of these (straight talk) phones) without any headache?"
And more than likely he/she will say ........... yes!!!!!!! easy peasy